The present disclosure relates in general to drilling rigs, and in particular to moving a drilling rig from one drill site to another drill site.
Once drilling operations associated with a drilling rig are completed at a drill site, the drilling rig is relocated to another drill site. Drill sites are often thousands of feet or miles apart. Often, an external jacking system must be transported to the drill site to lift the drilling rig onto a drilling rig transportation unit. Time delays, equipment rental costs, and personnel costs can be associated with the use and the rental of external jacking systems. Additionally, the drilling rig often must be disassembled prior to its relocation and then reassembled after arrival. Disassembly and subsequent reassembly can take days to complete and is associated with additional costs.
The present disclosure is directed to an assembled drilling rig moving unit and methods that overcome one or more of the shortcomings in the prior art.